As humans, we use a variety of methods to communicate our emotions. We use physical senses such as hearing, tasting, touching, smelling, and seeing. We can also however, express our emotions through words, and poetry is exactly this – the precise use of words written in a way that allows the reader to experience some kind of emotion. Poetry is an art form.
Matthew B. Dahl, a poet who recently published his first book Butterfly Teardrops, has a variety of advice for the individual interested in writing poetry. To prepare oneself to write poetry, Dahl says that the only prerequisite to writing poetry is to experience life – pain, love, rejection, hope. A poet observes and records their life experiences. But a poem, he warns, is not a diary. “A poem does not ramble. Its few, precise words are exactly and only what the writer intends to write.” A poem is also a separate entity, a work of art that has value apart from the writer.
There are dozens of poetry styles. Many new poets, says Dahl, often start out with rhyming verse because they think that’s what poetry is. And he says they’re right. There is also haiku and free verse poetry, which is a non-rhyming form of poetry. Any poetry style, however, generally uses words that invoke the senses. Most poetry techniques also use metaphors, similes, and symbolism. And for beginners, Dahl recommends using a poetry style that has rules, like haiku or rhymed poetry. Free verse poetry offers total freedom and is a good style to “graduate” to, once you’ve practiced rhyming verse.
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